Nitrofurantoin: analysis of its long-term effects and contraindications

• Queiroz Marcelino, Luciano ^[1] ; Adrian Estrin, Marcelo ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Abierta Interamericana

     Universidad Abierta Interamericana

     Argentina

     
• Localización: Revista Interamericana de Ciencias de la Salud (IJHS), ISSN-e 2953-3724, Nº. 5, 2025
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Introduction: urinary tract infections are common and affect mostly women, where nitrofurantoin is widely used in this type of conditions. However, this drug is not free of adverse effects and complications, such as hypersensitivity reactions, pulmonary and hepatic disorders.Objectives: to analyze the long-term adverse reactions and contraindications of nitrofurantoin in patients with urinary tract infection.Methods: a literature review was carried out, which consisted of reading and analyzing different citations in the PubMed database, Google Scholar, and Cochrane library. Search strategies were used by combining terms to structure search strategies. Results: a total of 5 articles were used to understand the long-term adverse effects of nitrofurantoin. The analysis of the evidence shows that being female, elderly, and recurrent urinary tract infections are the main risk factors for suffering these adverse effects.Conclusions: nitrofurantoin is a widely used antimicrobial for the treatment of urinary tract infection. In elderly patients, mainly female, suffering from recurrent UTI, prolonged use may develop adverse effects, either mild (bacterial resistance or gastrointestinal symptoms) or severe (pulmonary, hepatic symptoms and in some cases neuropathies)